Raiders HC Pete Carroll made some comments about one of his newest toys that seem to be upsetting people
Mandatory minicamp is all wrapped up, and for the most part, this will be the last we see of the Las Vegas Raiders while they do organized team activities in terms of practices and minicamps. Now, we wait for training camp. But, as Pete Carroll addressed the media for one of the last few times […]
Mandatory minicamp is all wrapped up, and for the most part, this will be the last we see of the Las Vegas Raiders while they do organized team activities in terms of practices and minicamps. Now, we wait for training camp.
But, as Pete Carroll addressed the media for one of the last few times till training camp, he left everyone with something to think about. He talked to the media on Thursday after practice and on the last day of Mandatory Minicamp. He said something that has fans pretty upset, well, at least a portion of them.
But, I'm not sure what he said is really what fans think he means.
“They're going to show us that when they get the chance to compete. I love having multiple guys play. I'm not relying on one guy. Thunder and lightning back in the day, you know, whatever it takes to get it done. So, we're going to let the guys play for their play time. Raheem, I love having him. He's an experienced guy that's been a great speedster for years. We've defended him for years. He's been a real nightmare for us. And I think Zamir [White] had a really, really good camp too. He made a statement of being the bigger of the guys. He's really fast and he's the biggest guy that we have. Ashton looks every bit what we had hoped he would look like. He caught the ball really well. He understood stuff, took everything really seriously, and gave terrific effort throughout. We made a big deal to him. Everybody's watching you, and he embraced the thought of it. And so, it's going to be really exciting to see what happens. We got Sincere [McCormick] back too late in the camp period here. He had a couple of really nice games last year, and he showed really good quickness and kind of a knack for running the ball. So, when we go to camp it'll just be game on, and we'll see what happens.” – Pete Carroll on Thursday, June 12
So, fans, and even some media members, are thinking this is Carroll saying that the Raiders will be an "RB by Committee" type of team, which is something that teams do, usually teams who don't have a definite number one guy at the position or teams that have two guys who could both be number ones on the team, depending on the day.
In this case, I'm not entirely sure that Carroll is saying that about Ashton Jeanty and the RB room. Fans are upset because why did the Raiders just took a running back at No. 6 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft if they weren't going to make him the definite guy, or the guy who gets all of the carries?
First, I'd counter with this: Look at the contract they gave him as a rookie — he's the guy, and there's no question about it. They are going to get every penny out of that contract that they can. Secondly, this is Pete Carroll we are talking about, one of the best at "coaches speak" we have ever seen. It was that way when he was with the Seattle Seahawks, and it was that way when he was with the New England Patriots, too. He says what needs to be said for his player's sake and for his job. He says the safe thing and doesn't really give you crazy, dramatic headlines — as I type out a story about him giving us some drama.
But that's all because of fan reaction, or overreaction, which is really normal. In this case, I think that Carroll means that there is certainly competition for the guys behind Jeanty. If you look at all the reports from the beat writers who are there on-site and have been at the practices, Jeanty has had almost all of the first-team reps.
Carroll could be meaning that the guys behind Jeanty are competing for that backup spot. Or, when Jeanty is not in the game, which, let's face it, he's a rookie and he will need some breaks, and injuries do happen, who will be the guys that get carries after that? Is it all Raheem Moster? No. He's saying these guys are going to compete.
He's not saying that the Raiders won't use Jeanty. To me, this feels like Jeanty gets 80%, if not more, of the carries, and the rest of the guys are competing for the rest of the carries, or snaps in general. And let's remember, it's not even training camp yet.
Pete Carroll is living up to Ashton Jeanty’s expectations during Raiders 2025 rookie minicamp
The two are going to gel so well together.
